It’s no April Fool’s joke, the mill ferry is on dry land. The water level is currently almost five meters below the normal level of the Hohenwarte Stasee.
With Thuringia’s only car ferry, pedestrians, bicycles, motorbikes and cars can normally cross between Linkenmühle and Altenroth. Crossing the 400 meter wide waterway only takes about five minutes – and you save a 33 km route.
Date for the start of the season still open
But due to the lack of water, it will now take at least four more weeks before the ferry can start the season. The Kombus GmbH as the operator had already postponed the start to April 6, but this date cannot be kept either, the transport company confirms.
Only at a water level of 301 m above sea level. NN is an operation possible. However, the ship would have to be checked for any defects beforehand while still in the water. Kombus expects 1-2 days to adjust the controls, check all fill levels on the machine and check the safety technology.
Only rain can help now
Because the inlet gates on the Hohenwarte dam – large safety flaps each weighing 56 tons – have been renewed, the operator Vattenfall had to lower the water level by more than five meters.
However, in order for the storage space to be provided in the entire Saale cascade for floods to be retained, the Bleilochtalsperre had to be drained, according to Martin Loga, the person responsible for water management at the Saale cascade. It is therefore not possible to fill the Hohenwarte faster with water from the Bleiloch reservoir. Only rain can help.
Passenger ships started on time
The excursion steamers on both dams start at noon on April 1st. The piers are pushed so far down the banks that passengers can get on the ships without any problems, say the Hohenwarte shipping company, the Pretzsch reservoir shipping company and the Saalburg marina in unison.